


Bodyguard

by nomadicwolf



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bodyguard AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 13:48:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19377961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nomadicwolf/pseuds/nomadicwolf
Summary: Bucky Barnes get a promotion that has him protecting a high profile politician.  While the threats don't appear to be serious, it becomes clear that this assignment is a lot more than Barnes originally bargained for.  Bodyguard AU





	Bodyguard

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ascafen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ascafen/gifts).



> This work was inspired by this incredible art piece by Ascafen! https://ffdom.tumblr.com/post/185868213445/my-contribution-for-cap-reverse-big-bang-picked
> 
> I’d also like to give a shout out to my beta, Anne!

            Bucky was pacing back and forth outside of Hill’s office.  Why had she wanted to see him? He’d done a good job at his post the past several months and finally felt like he was getting into a good rhythm.  Then this happened. He was called down to his boss’s office with no context given whatsoever. He racked his brain trying to figure exactly how he might have fucked up here.

            The door cracked open and he stilled.  Maria poked her head out of the office and glanced around.  She spotted Bucky and motioned to her office. “James. Come on in.”

            Bucky nodded politely as he followed her inside the office.  He took a seat in the chair across from her desk. He’d been in this office more times than he could count, and most of them were not exactly winning moments.  He just couldn’t figure out what he had done to land himself in trouble this time.

            Maria sighed as she looked up at him.  She cracked a smile. “James, I heard about what happened on the subway.”

            Oh.  That wasn’t what he was expecting.  “I see,” Bucky paused. He wasn’t sure where she was going with this.

            “You diffused an intense situation where a lot of people could’ve been hurt.  There were no injuries or fatalities, and from what I can tell that is all thanks to your presence there.”  She leaned back in her chair.

            “I apologize,” Bucky said honestly.  “I should have come to you directly when it happened.  I just figured that we only have these lovely chats when I’ve really stepped in it.”

            She waved dismissively.  “Believe me, I know that you’re not exactly one to toot your own horn.  The reason that I’ve called you down here is that, despite your modesty, a lot of people noticed your success the other day.”

            “If this is about inconsistencies in my report--”

            “This is a promotion, Barnes,” Hill cut him off.  “We’re impressed and an opportunity has come for you to move up.”

            Bucky blinked.  He wasn’t in trouble?  That was new. “Wow. Thank you.  I wasn’t expecting this…”

            She smiled politely and pushed a file folder that was on her desk closer to him.  “This is your next assignment. You’ve been assigned to a high profile politician.   I don’t think that I need to stress how important it is that you keep him safe.”

            Bucky took the folder from the desk and flipped through it.  Steven Grant Rogers. He’d seen him on the news. He was currently trying to push a bill forward making it more difficult for the government to gather information on its citizens.  He was at the center of a very heated debate across the country. There were plenty of people who would love to put a target on this guy’s back. Bucky wasn’t sure what he did to deserve this.  This wasn’t a promotion; this was the kind of job that you gave someone when you wanted to make a point. If he fucked this up, his career was over. This was the kind of assignment that you gave someone if you wanted to get rid of them, but you couldn’t fire them.  This was not something that was given when you were impressed with someone and wanted them to succeed.

            Bucky swallowed and looked up at Hill.  “Who recommended me for this?”

            She frowned.  “Does it matter?”

            “It does if it came from you,” Bucky said honestly.  “I just want to know where we stand.”

            “This wasn’t my first choice for your first case,” Hill said after a pause.  “I do, however, think that you’re the right person for the job. Don’t prove me wrong.”

            Bucky nodded as he stood up from the chair.  “I’ll do my best.”

            The next day, Bucky went right over to meet his new charge.  He was dressed formally. He knew that this job went hand in hand with being in the public eye.  The last thing that he wanted was to stand out. He was supposed to be watching in plain sight. The best way to do that was to blend in with the rest of Rogers’s team.  It wasn’t too tricky. They all typically wore formal wear. It was definitely a change of pace from his usual uniform.

            Bucky showed his ID badge to the front desk before he made his way up to the office.   He went up the steps two at a time as he made his way over to Steve’s office. The doors and walls were glass.  Bucky already had issues with that layout. It made Steve an easy target.

            Bucky entered the room and flashed his ID.  Steve was tall. Bucky could see that even though the other man was sitting.  His blonde hair was perfectly styled and his eyes were a piercing blue. Bucky knew that he was impressive, but seeing him in person nearly took his goddamn breath away.  Steve belonged in a museum, not cutting through red tape on Capitol Hill.

            Steve looked him over and gave a nod.  “I told them this was unnecessary. I don’t think anyone is genuinely looking to threaten my life.  Those threats are just from trolls on the internet.”

            Bucky frowned.  “They seemed a lot more malicious than that.”

            Steve stood up from his desk and walked over to the window.  He leaned his forearm against it as he peered outside. “No one’s made an attempt yet.”

            “Well, let’s hope it stays that way,” Bucky said, watching him closely.  “Rather be safe than sorry, right?”

            Steve laughed harshly at that.  “It’s not as though my constituents would be getting the same level of treatment if they received these messages.”  He backed away from the window and looked back at Bucky. “No offense.”

            “None taken,” Bucky deadpanned.  “To be fair, it’s not as though the average American paints the same large target on their backs as you do.  Your latest bill isn’t exactly going to win any popularity contests.”

Steve hummed at that.  “I guess it’s not. That doesn’t mean that it’s not the right thing to pursue.”

            “If your constituents are against it--”

            “I don’t tell you how to do your job.  I’d appreciate it if you could extend me that same courtesy,” Steve said firmly.  His voice was stern and strong. It was exactly how you’d want someone in charge to sound.  That didn’t mean that Bucky appreciated it being directed at him.

            “With all due respect, this isn’t a comment on your job.  I don’t really have much of an opinion on politics. I just meant that this policy that you’re fighting for, paints a target on your back.  It’s not something to be taken lightly.” Bucky raised an eyebrow, practically challenging Steve to counter.

            Steve didn’t.  He just crossed his arms and nodded.  “Point taken. That said, I hope you don’t expect me to back down because of these threats.  I really believe in what I’m fighting for here. If it puts me at risk, then so be it.”

            “Understood,” Bucky said, trying to sound half as confident and righteous as Steve did.  He wasn’t quite sure if he managed to pull it off, though.

            Steve didn’t seem to care one way or the other.  He just sat back down and opened up one of the drawers in his desk.  He took out an accordion folder and handed it to Bucky. “These are all the files on my personnel as well as my schedule for the next few weeks.  If you give me your email address, I can have my assistant forward you any changes or additions that may be made after the fact. Quite frankly, I have a hard time remembering what day it is lately.”

            “Have all your people had background checks ran on them?” Bucky asked as he began opening the folder and took a seat across from Steve’s desk.  “Or drug tests?”

            Steve nodded.  “I vet my people thoroughly.”

            “Good.  That should make my job a little bit easier,” Bucky said as he looked through some of the forms.  “Do you mind if I hold on to these for a bit? I don’t exactly want to rush through this.”

            Steve laughed.  “Yeah, take as long as you need.  This should be a pretty easy assignment for you.  I really don’t think that any of these threats are too serious.”

            Bucky didn’t speak up, but he disagreed.  This bill was ostracizing both the opposing party and his own.  He was pissing a lot of people off, and he was the poster child for this cause.  He was the one that had the bullseye on his back. If this went south it would take both Steve and Bucky down with it.  “I hope you’re right.”

            The rest of the day was mundane.  While Bucky was initially against the glass office, it did make it easier to stay with Steve and keep an eye on the staff at the same time.  Maybe he’d look into bulletproof glass if any of these threats turned out to be legitimate.

            Bucky spent most of the day looking through the files with a fine toothed comb.  All of Steve’s personnel appeared to be above board. If someone on the inside had an issue with Steve’s policy, they didn’t appear to be likely to escalate this to something violent.  That was reassuring. It’d be a lot harder to get to Steve if the threats weren’t on the inside. Maybe Steve was right. Maybe this would be an easy assignment.

            At eight o’clock, Steve started packing up his briefcase.  “I’m probably going to finish my work at home tonight, unless you want us to stay here for any reason.”

            Bucky shook his head as he packed up the folder.  “That’s fine. I don’t need anything here if you don’t.  I can work on this at your place.”

            Steve sighed.  “Right. I forgot.  I’m used to… I really relish my alone time.  I just have to get used to having someone around 24/7.”

            “I’ll do my best to give you what space I can.  I do need to be there, though, Steve. Your safety isn’t something that I’m going to take lightly,” Bucky said seriously.  This was his first case, he wasn’t going to fuck it up because Steve wanted some alone time.

            The color faded from Steve’s face a bit at that.  Clearly, he didn’t want Bucky in the house with him.  That was a red flag. Maybe there was something going on at home that Bucky needed to assess.  “If you’re worried about discretion, everything I observe is confidential. So long as I don’t think it’s a personal threat to you or to anyone else, it’s between me, myself, and I.”

            Steve paused, and put his hands on hips.  Bucky could practically see the wheels turning in his head.  “It’s not… I’ve got nothing to hide, Barnes. I’m just… I keep odd hours and having someone around tends to mess with my creative flow.  I’ll make it work. I understand that this is just for my safety. I may not think that these threats are legitimate, but you’re right. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

            That was a good deflection.  Steve must have been pretty good at his job because that was spoken as a true politician.  Bucky had almost forgotten that Steve very clearly did not want Bucky in the apartment for one reason or another.  Almost. Bucky made a mental note to look for suspicious behavior around the home.

            “After a few days, I’m sure you won’t even notice that I’m here,” Bucky tried to reassure him.

            Steve nodded, but bit his lip.  Steve clearly was not convinced that this was a solution to whatever issue that he had with Bucky coming to the home.  Bucky had to wonder what he might have been walking into. Maybe there was more to these threats than Steve was leading on.

            Steve’s driver brought them over to the apartment.  It was much more lowkey than Bucky was anticipating.  It wasn’t the extravagant luxury apartment that a successful, wealthy bachelor would typically have.  It was modest and Bucky had to wonder if he didn’t want anyone to see how humbly he lived. Maybe that was the real reason that Steve didn’t want anyone around.  Maybe his financials were not in the shape that he led the public to believe.

            “It’s not much,” Steve said as if he was reading Bucky’s mind.  “But I don’t need anything too flashy. I really don’t spend too much time here as it is.  Work keeps me pretty busy.”

            Bucky gave a small smile.  He really wasn’t judging. He and Connie were living some place similar to this when they got married.  They only upgraded to a bigger place when Grace was born. It just wasn’t what Bucky had expected to see when arriving at Steve’s place.

            “It doesn’t really have a guest room.  The sofa pulls out, I can spend the night there and--”

            “That won’t be necessary,” Bucky said.  “The goal is to keep your routines and schedule as close to normal as possible.  I won’t be spending the night here, Steve. My job is to set up survelinence, check to make sure that everything looks above board.  Then some uniform officers will keep watch from their patrol car, and I’ll see you in the morning. We understand that people need some privacy, and with the security system we’re installing, it’s not going to be easy to get in here without your say-so.”

            Steve seemed to relax at that.  “Oh. I didn’t realize. My assistant made it sound like you weren’t going to leave my side until the vote.”

            “I’ll be here for most of it, but I can’t be here constantly,” Bucky said honestly.  “This seems to be the safest time for me to get back to my place, change, shower and get a few hours of sleep.  It’s not as if you’re in public or easy to access here.”

            “Yeah, that makes sense,” Steve said as he put his bag down on the coffee table.  “I’m going to try and get some more work down, if you need anything, I’ll be in the bedroom.”

            “I’ll let you know when I’ve finished securing the place,” Bucky said as he got to work.  He made sure that he reinforced the few windows and set up surveillance cameras outside. He installed a new security alarm that would notify him when anyone approached the perimeter of Steve’s apartment.  When he reentered the apartment, he did a quick sweep for bugs just to be safe.

            “Hey,” Steve cleared his throat.  “An associate of mine is coming over with dinner.  I just wanted you to be aware.”

            Bucky nodded.  “I’ll make sure I stay until they leave.”

            “That’s really not necessa--”

            “I don’t care what your meeting’s about, Rogers.  I just want to make sure that nothing happens to you on my watch,” Bucky snapped.  “Understood?”

            “Understood,” Steve said.  He didn’t seem pleased with Bucky’s answer, but he didn’t fight it either.  That counted as a win in Bucky’s book.

            Bucky was sitting in the living room when Steve’s visitor arrived at the apartment.  Bucky recognized him almost instantly. Nick Fury. He was a controversial politician from Steve’s party.  He’d be almost actively opposing Steve’s new bill. What the hell were they meeting for?

            Steve ushered Fury into the small dining area, and Bucky did his best not to listen in.  He really wasn’t interested in whatever they were discussing. The only thing that mattered was that Steve was safe and that Fury wasn’t a threat.  

            They were talking in hushed whispers in the room for about an hour before Fury finally left.  Steve seemed frustrated as he came back into the living room area. “Sorry about that. He wasn’t able to come by the office earlier today, so I told him to stop by.  We’re hoping to unify the party, but…” his voice trailed off.

            Bucky stood up.  “I’m just gonna do one last check and then I’ll be out of your hair for the night.”

            “Thank you, Barnes,” Steve said.  “I really do appreciate all this.”

            Bucky took a step towards the other room when his phone beeped.  Someone was approaching the house. He pulled up the cameras. He couldn’t see a soul.

            “Steve, get in the bathroom,” Bucky said, trying to keep his voice even.

            “What’s going on?” Steve asked from the living room.

            “Get.  In. The.  Bathroom,” Bucky said as he drew his gun and began walking towards the front door.  He looked back over his shoulder to make sure that Steve was going inside the bathroom like he instructed.  He saw him head into the master bedroom. The bathroom was right off from there so he appeared to be following his instructions.

            Bucky continued over to the door and glanced out the window near the front of the house. He didn’t get a chance to look outside because he heard gunshots.  Bucky looked behind him. The shots were coming from the next apartment over by the dining room. If that appointment had run ten minutes longer, both Steve and Fury would have been dead.

            Bucky opened the door to Steve’s apartment and went over to the next apartment.  He broke in the door and fired at the figure. The figure dropped to the floor. Bucky ran over and kicked the shooter’s gun away from them.  He took out his phone and called for backup and an ambulance.

            Once the reinforcements showed up, Bucky left and went back into Steve’s apartment.  He went into the bathroom, and saw Steve sitting in the tub. He immediately put his hands up and his head shot up from where they were in between his knees.  “Don’t shoot!”

            “Steve,” Bucky said calmly.  “It’s okay. It’s me. It’s okay.  We got ‘em.”

            Steve’s eyes were wide, red and puffy as he blinked.  “You got… you… are they dead?”

            “Not yet, but they’re on their way to the hospital as we speak.  I’ve got to get you out of here in case there’s a partner or something.  Let’s bring you down to the station and figure out where to go from there, okay?” Bucky held his hand out to Steve.

            Steve’s hand was shaking as he reached out and took Bucky’s hand and made his way out of the tub.  Bucky led Steve out of the apartment and into the car. Bucky drove them down to the station and brought Steve over to Bucky’s office.  

            “Do they know who it was?” Steve asked after a few minutes.

            “I don’t know.  My priority was getting you out of there, not IDed the perp, Steve.  Just hang out here for now, and I’ll let you know the second I get any more information.  Is there anyone in particular who you think might have been responsible for this?”

            Steve shook his head.  “No. I can’t think of anyone specifically who would want to blow my fucking head off.”

            Bucky nodded.  “Okay. If you can think of anything, let us know.  I know this is a lot.”

            Steve didn’t say anything as he looked back down at his feet.  Bucky began filling out his paperwork for discharging his weapon.  Steve was silent throughout most of the night. He’d occasionally get up and walk around.  It was clear that he was shaken up by the attack.

            There was a knock on his door. Bucky looked up to see Natasha Romanoff standing at the door.  She walked in with a file folder and left it on his desk. “I think the two of you should move to a hotel for the night.  It’s not looking like this guy was working alone.”

            Bucky sighed.  “I’ll make some calls.”

            “There’s one more thing,” Natasha said, biting her lip.  “Connie called. She’s worried.”

            Bucky frowned.  “Yeah--yeah. Thanks for letting me know.”

            She smiled tightly at him as she made her way out of the office.

            Bucky looked over to Steve.  “I’ll book us a room. At least you’ll be able to get to bed soon.”

            Steve shook his head.  “Probably won’t be able to.  I’m still reeling.”

            “That’s understandable,” Bucky said.  “Still, it might make things a bit easier for you.  You can relax a little bit.”

            Bucky booked them conjoining rooms.  This would give the their privacy while also ensuring that Bucky was there if trouble arose.  When they got there Bucky took out his phone and called Connie.

            “James?” She asked frantically as she answered the phone.  “Where were you? I’ve been worried sick!”

            “I’m sorry, there was a shootout.  I’m okay. I’ve just gotta stay with my charge.  I’m at a hotel. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to take Grace tonight,” Bucky said honestly.  “Once I put this case to bed, I’ll make it up to her.”

            There was silence for a moment.  “A shootout? Christ, James. How do you get into these situations?”

            “I don’t know,” Bucky said with a small laugh.  “I hope I didn’t ruin your date night.”

            She let out a nervous laugh.  “No. Nothing like that. I’m just glad you’re okay.  I wish your job wasn’t so… hazardous.”

            Bucky groaned.  “Connie, now is not the time for this conversation.”

            There was more silence.  “I’ll let you get some sleep.  I guess you don’t need a lecture from your ex.”

            Bucky laughed.  “I appreciate the concern, Connie.  I’ll call tomorrow.”

            “Good night.”  The phone went dead.  There was a lot of things that he regretted.  The way that things ended with Connie was one of them.

            Bucky was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the sound of the conjoining door opening.  Steve was standing there. His eyes were swollen and puffy. He must have been crying.

            “Everything okay?”

            Steve didn’t say anything.  He just stepped over to Bucky and pressed his lips to Bucky’s sweetly.  Bucky was slightly taken aback. He didn’t realize that Steve like men and he definitely didn’t know that there was an attraction.  Bucky knew that he should have put a stop to it. It would violate every rule that was ever made. That said, Steve was gorgeous, and Bucky was lonely.

            Bucky wasn’t sure what came over him as he kissed Steve back deeply.  He led Steve over to the bed. They made short work of their clothes and it wasn’t long before Bucky was burying himself deep inside of Steve.  With each and every thrust and kiss, Bucky felt himself becoming more and more infatuated with Steve. Who could want this magnificent creature dead?

            Two days following the shooting, Steve was giving a speech on a helicarrier.  Bucky adamantly protested against it. The last thing that he wanted was for Steve to get on one of these things.  It would be ridiculously easy for an unfortunate accident to happen on one of these things. However, Steve was very persistent.  He wanted to ensure that his message was heard by everyone possible. For some reason, that meant pulling this ridiculous publicity stunt.

            That’s how they wound up on a helicarrier in the middle of the day.  Steve was standing in front of the crowd giving his speech while Bucky was running almost every which way to ensure that no one got anywhere near Steve.

            Just as Steve was about to wrap up the speech, the helicarrier jolted.  Bucky glanced around and before he knew it, they were all in a free fall.  Bucky raced over to Steve and grabbed a parachute that he’d made sure he packed prior to the lift off.

            He grabbed Steve and jumped off the helicarrier.  Once they were in the air, Bucky pulled the parachute, but unfortunately, the altitude wasn’t as high as Bucky would have liked, and they hit the water hard.

            Bucky woke up in his hospital bed hours later.  Connie was sitting beside him, Grace was asleep on her lap.  He groaned as his eyes adjusted to the lights.

            “James,” Connie said, her voice full of relief.  “Thank god. What the hell happened--”

            “Steve,” Bucky called.  He looked at Connie. “Is he okay?”

            Her face fell a bit at that.  “James… the impact from when you both hit the water it--”

            “Where is he?”  Bucky threw back the blanket and tried to unplug himself from the IV and machines monitoring his vitals.  “I need to see him.”

            “James,” Connie said frantically.  “James, sit down! Stop!”

            Bucky fervently stood up from the bed and tried to make his way over to the door.

            “Daddy!  You’re awake!” Grace exclaimed, snapping Bucky back to reality.

            Bucky stopped and looked over at his daughter.  Her dark hair was disheveled and her blue eyes looked exhausted and dreary.  “Hey, princess. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

            Her face lit up as she walked over to him and hugged him tightly.  “Daddy, I was so worried.”

            Bucky’s heart fell at that.  Of course Grace and Connie were worried.  “I’m okay, Gracie. Just a little confused.”

            He slowly went over to the bed, and sat back down.  He calmly turned to Connie. “Where is he?”

            She frowned.  “He’s alive, but… he’s in a coma, James.  The doctor’s aren’t sure…”

            “I need to get out of here, Connie,” Bucky said quietly.  “I need to find who did this.”

            Connie shook her head.  “Are you insane?”

            “You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important!” Bucky snapped under his breath.  “I have a hunch.”

            She gave him a disapproving look.  “James…”

            “Connie, please.”

            She frowned before nodding.  “Fine.”

            Connie brought him back to Steve’s apartment so Bucky could take another look at the first crime scene. He knew that there was no chance that he’d be able to get access to the wreckage of the helicarrier.  This was his best bet.

            Bucky took a look around.  Steve’s apartment was clean.  It was clear that the CSI had gone over the place with a fine toothed comb.  He made his way over to the apartment next door where the shooter was. Again, nothing.  It was as if a professional crew had come in to clean it out. Maybe they had.

            That brought Bucky’s attention to the shooter.  The shooter was identified as Brock Rumlow. That was surprising in it of itself.  Bucky had served with Brock in the military. The last he’d heard, Brock was working some cushy job assisting some senator.  

            Bucky spent that night researching Brock and his boss, Alexander Pierce.  Pierce was adamantly against Steve’s new bill to end unauthorized surveillance of civilians.  In fact, Bucky actually agreed with a lot of the points that this guy was making. Overall, though, he didn’t seem particularly threatening or passionate about his stance on the issue.  He just made it clear that he didn’t agree with Steve’s plan. He wasn’t exactly someone that would be a clear suspect for this case. Still, it was the only lead Bucky had.

            Bucky began practically stalking Pierce.  He followed him to work, home, and any and all meetings.  Most of them all seemed to be above board. There was nothing suspicious that particularly piques Bucky’s interest.  That was until Nick Fury stopped by Pierce’s apartment.

            Bucky had almost forgotten that Fury had stopped by right before the attack on Steve’s apartment.  Seeing him there made it clear. Fury was connected to this somehow. That must have meant that either Fury or Pierce was the mastermind behind the attacks on Steve.

            Bucky kept watching as the meeting commenced.  When Fury left the house, he made a bee line for Bucky’s car.  Fuck. He’d been made. Before Bucky could react, Fury tapped on the window.

            Bucky slowly rolled his window down and looked up at the other man.  “Evening, Mr. Fury.”

            “James Barnes, correct?” Fury asked him.

            Bucky nodded.  “I was in charge of Steve Rogers’s security detail.  I’m surprised you remember me.”

            Fury laughed at that.  “I have an affinity for remembering faces.  Listen, I know why you’re here--”

            “Then if I were you, I’d stay out of this,” Bucky said, trying to come off intimidating.  He didn’t need anyone getting in his way as he investigated this.

            “There’s a meeting tomorrow.  If you wanted someone to wear a wire…” Fury’s voice trailed off.

            “You think Pierce did this?” Bucky asked, unsure of why Fury was confiding in him.

            “I’m asking you to trust me,” Fury said.  “You know my background. I was in the force too.  This stinks something awful. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong.  It can’t hurt to have someone recording in case I’m right.”

            Bucky nodded.  “What time is the meeting?”

            “Noon.”

            “Meet me at the local Stark Hotel tomorrow at ten. Don’t be late.”  Bucky rolled up his window and went back to the hotel.

            The next morning, Fury met with Bucky in his hotel room.  He set him up with a wire and sent him out to face Pierce.  Bucky was parked across the street from where the meeting was taking place.  If he had to make an arrest, at least he’d be able to move quickly this way.

            Bucky listened closely to each word as the “meeting” commenced.  For about an hour they seemed to be talking about a whole lot of nothing.  There was nothing even slightly useful about any of the things that they were talking about.  Steve’s name wasn’t even mentioned.

            Before he knew it, the meeting was ending.  People were leaving and the chattering was decreasing.  Shit. He was back to square one. Just as he was about to pack up and call it quits, he heard Fury and Pierce begin to talk again.

            “It’s a shame what happened to Rogers,” Fury said.

            “It is,” Pierce agreed.  “There is some cruel irony to it.  If there was more internet surveillance, the police would have likely been able to stop both attacks before they even occurred.”

            “I guess there’s no way to know for sure,” Fury said slyly.

            There was a pause.  “We’ve known each other a long time, Nick.  If you have a question, then ask away.”

            “Do you have any idea who orchestrated this attack?” Fury asked.

            “Why would you think--”

            “I just want to know who I should send a thank you card to.” Fury laughed hollowly.

            Pierce gave a laugh too.  “What difference does it make who did it?”

            “I guess it can’t hurt to know in case a similar situation arises,” Fury said.

            There was another pause.  “What are you really asking me, Nick?”

            “Did you have anything to do with it?  If so, I mean,” Fury started to clap his hands.  “I’d be impressed.”

            There was another pause.  “If you must know… then yes.  I had some of my people arrange for the accidents to occur.”

            Before Pierce even finished the sentence, Buck bolted out of the car and into the meeting room.  Pierce and Fury’s heads snapped over to him. Pierce was stunned he looked at Bucky before glancing back to Fury.  “Well played, Nick. Exploiting our friendship to coax a confession out of me. I’ll admit… _I’m_ impressed.”

            “Shut the hell up,” Bucky said as he cuffed the older man and read him his rights.

            After Bucky bought Pierce down to the station and dodged all the press that were trying to get a statement out of him, he made his way back down to the hospital.  He sat there for days just waiting. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. He had to wonder if there was any chance that Steve would ever wake up.

            About three months after the accident, Bucky and Grace were in Steve’s room.  They were playing tic-tac-toe, when Bucky heard it. A cough.

            “You okay, Gracie?” Bucky asked as he circled an “o” in one of the spots on the grid.

            “It wasn’t me, Daddy,” she said, looking towards the bed.

            Bucky stood up and walked over to Steve.  Steve’s bright blue eyes sparkled up at him.  

            “Hi,” Steve croaked.

            “Hey,” Bucky said with a smile.

 

 


End file.
